A vehicle is equipped with many on-board apparatus such as an audio apparatus and a navigation apparatus. In recent years, such on-board apparatus have become sophisticated, multifunctional, and communicable with an information terminal such as a smartphone. The on-board apparatus and the smartphone have various types of functions. To use the functions, a user needs to view an operation unit and/or a display unit and performs complicated operations. When a driver engages in such activities while driving a vehicle, these activities often draw the driver's eyes away from the front of the vehicle and/or take the driver's hands off a steering wheel, thus distracting the driver.
In a known technique, an operation to an on-board apparatus is received through an operation unit mounted on a steering wheel, and an operation image indicative of an operation state of the operation unit is displayed on a meter display unit located behind the steering wheel. According to this technique, while driving a vehicle, a driver can operate the on-board apparatus with his/her eyes on the meter display unit and with his/her hands on the steering wheel. Thus, the driver can operate the on-board apparatus without taking his/her eyes far off the front of the vehicle.
However, in the known technique, the operation image is displayed in a fixed position on the meter display unit. Therefore, if a position of the operation unit changes according to turn or rotation of the steering wheel, a distance between the operation image and the operation unit changes and becomes large. As a result, even when the driver looks at the operation image, the driver cannot know shortly the current operation state of the operation unit. Therefore, unless the driver looks at the operation image and the operation unit separately or the driver updates the operation image by actually operating the operation unit, it is difficult for the driver to recognize a positional relationship between his/or her finger and the operation unit. That is, the driver cannot intuitively operate the operation unit.
In a meter display system disclosed in US 2008/0224840 corresponding to JP-A-2008-221998, a display region where important information such as a vehicle speed is displayed on a meter display unit is moved or zoomed out according to an operation state of a steering wheel to prevent a steering wheel spoke from obstructing a driver's line of sight to the display region.
The meter display system disclosed in US 2008/0224840 may allow the driver to always view the important information, but does not allow the driver to intuitively operate the operation unit mounted on a steering wheel.